FSA scoring system, school grading rules approved by state board

Scoring system set for Fl's new test, the FSA. Failure rates likely to top 40 percent this year.

Florida students likely will find passing mandatory state tests tougher than in the past, thanks to a more stringent scoring system approved Wednesday.

The State Board of Education by a 6-1 vote approved a scoring plan for the new Florida Standards Assessments, or FSA, that makes the new series of exams harder than its predecessor. It could mean more than 40 percent of students fail most of the language arts and math exams this spring.

But it turned back a call for an even stricter “cut scores” – the lines that divide passing from failing — that could have led to failure rates that topped 60 percent.

“We’re not talking about cut scores. We’re talking about kids,” said board member Tom Grady, who voted for the approved plan. “If we get the cut scores wrong, that means there are kids, all of whom are our responsibility… who won’t be advancing.”

Florida’s school superintendents supported the plan and argued strongly against a tougher scoring system pushed by one board member and some business and education advocates.

“I think they made the right choice,” said Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins, who drove to Tallahassee to speak at the board’s meeting.

Superintendents had feared the board would adopt a scoring system that would have “tipped over the whole apple cart” and led to “this terrible trashing of our public school system,” said Jenkins, who is also president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

But the board’s vote still will greatly affect Florida’s nearly 2.8 million public school students. FSA scores will help determine promotion from third grade, class assignments and whether students earn high school diplomas.

The board, by another 6-1 vote, Wednesday also revised the school grading formula — a move that at least in the short term looks unlikely to change Florida’s annual school report card significantly.

The new A-to-F grading plan makes it easier for schools to earn good grades than in 2014, requiring 62 percent of points instead of 66 percent to earn an A, for example. But because the percentage of students doing well on the FSA exams will likely fall, the grades for 2015 are expected to be very similar to the previous year's.

Under Florida’s 17-year-old school grading system, schools are judged largely on how students perform on state tests.

Stewart said the new grading plan was an effort to judge schools in a responsible way given that the state had transitioned to a new test and that many superintendents feared campuses would be unfairly labeled as Ds or Fs.

“I’ve set this new baseline carefully,” Stewart said.

The FSA replaced most of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. It will be harder to pass as the state works to make sure more students leave high school ready for college or decent-paying jobs.

In 2014, for example, 55 percent of 10th graders passed FCAT reading, required for graduation, but likely only 51 percent will pass the FSA language arts test, now needed for a diploma, state data shows.

And about 22 percent of third graders likely will fail the FSA reading exam and face retention compared with 19 percent scoring that poorly on FCAT in 2014.

The board’s vote came as testing in public schools remains a hot-button issue and, in response, the Florida Legislature, which convenes next week, likely will consider proposals to alter testing requirements.

Tougher passing scores for the FSA may well push more parents to have their children skip state tests, said Sandy Stenoff, a Seminole County parent and one of the founders of the Opt Out Florida Network, , a group opposed to high-stakes testing.

“For me, it doesn’t mean anything, and it’s one more reason why parents should not allow their kids to be subjected to it,” said Stenoff, who has two children in Seminole public schools and had them avoid the FSA last year.

The new scoring system for the FSA will be like the one used previously for FCAT, so it will have five-levels, with a 3 considered satisfactory or passing.

Board member John Padget wanted even stricter scoring, one that might mean a “cold shower” for students who fail the exams -- but then they'd have time to recoup before graduation. He said it would ensure more students left high school well-prepared.

“The cold shower should come as early as possible so they use their time efficiently while they’re still in our schools, and we can make a difference,” he said.

In meetings late last year, two other board members offered support for Padget's position. But both said Wednesday they had changed their minds.